In The Flesh?
by Tali'Zorah nar Rayya
Summary: AU. In which Liara covertly aids Shepard following Mass Effect One, and exiles herself. When using the new engines she upgraded the Shadow Broker Cruiser with, an unexpected systems failure occurs, sending her into the Halo galaxy. Now that she's here, she's in for a second genocide, suicide campaign, and probably another life of exclusion. At least there are (not) less xenophobes?
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Liara grew up as the unwanted one. She was different from all the other asari children. She saw things differently. She thought of asari culture differently. She thought of turian culture differently. She thought of salarian culture differently. She thought of krogan culture differently. She though of quarian culture differently.

Indeed, Liara was different. And she knew it.

In the course of a day she could go from displaying sage-like wisdom to being a hyperactive, off the walls child. She was a different girl. And she was proud of it. But no matter what her moods were, or how she felt about them, a handful of things remained constant. She didn't like herself. Not one bit. She thought she was ugly. That she didn't look quite right. She thought that she had an annoying voice. She thought she was hard to deal with. And because of this, Liara was an extremely shy, timid, and reserved person.

Not much had changed in her 109 years of life. She still felt the same about herself. And Ashley's taunts never helped. And Shepard, the renegade he was, turned a blind eye to it , and only harmed her further. The crew had realized what was going on, and for the most part, they left her alone. Including the non-humans. Tali avoided her, to make sure she didn't get made fun of, too. Quarians were always picked on. Liara understood Tali's reasons.

Hell, Garrus didn't spare her a passing glance. And he was a C-Sec officer. Maybe he didn't care? It wasn't anything new to Liara.

Wrex was the closest thing to a fried. He never protected her from the remarks, as it wasn't the krogan way. But he was a good listening ear for the hard times. And he had plenty of good stories to pass the time. He was kind of like a crazy, headbutting, shotgun wielding uncle that she never had. He was the only one Liara missed.

That's why when the original Normandy was destroyed, Liara felt both pangs of pain and twinges of relief in the fact that she wouldn't be the outsider any more. Of course, she did what she could to help Shepard fall into the right hands, and of course she ensured everything went as smoothly as possible. She did it alone.

And of course, when it was done, she disappeared.

And for the last three and a half years, she sent Shepard anonymous emails, containing tips from whatever she could get her hands on. She dedicated VIs to hacking information lines, and sending it to Shepard. She warned him of how the Reapers would try to control him. How they convinced Saren that mixing organic and synthetic life would be the way to find peace. Warned him of how there could be many things amiss. That in battles, he needed to remember his surroundings. How Reapers could try to indoctrinate him through dreams. That he may be in danger since he had been dealing with Reaper technologies for years. She warned him that he could wind up a slave, and that he not forget his mission. To destroy the Reapers and bring about an end to the galaxy's suffering.

She had remained in secret on the ruins of Ilos, working on a VI of herself, testing all the algorithms, and constructing a library of information on the Reapers. She planned to duplicate them, and scatter them across the galaxy, hoping that someone would find them. Meticulously rendering everything. Installing every possible fail safe, translation software, language computer, data save, antiviral protection, and even creating programs of her own in order to keep everything safe. She geared the library, and the VI to passively observe everything for the next five years, ensuring that they would collect data on the war. Even giving them hacking files, and illegal upgrades allowing it to achieve its purpose. Collecting information on the Reapers.

Liara researched possible solar systems that were outside of the galaxy Ones suitable for settlement. Outside of Reaper owned Dark Space. When she found one with a habitable world, she designed schematics for a new sort of engine. An illegal sort of engine. One that possessed extra power, cut into FTL much more quickly. The amount of eezo they used would be quite dangerous to a ship not formatted to deal with it. It was important to travel quickly. She needed resources and a ship to implement these upgrades on, though. So she did what she had to.

She attacked the Shadow Broker. And won. He had been a thorn in her side for months, and she had managed to buy off information about him.

The price?

_His informants weren't hideously scarred for life._

It was a nigh impossible battle when she confronted him, but while Liara was away, she had done everything possible to enhance her abilities. She developed her biotics as much as possible. She trained relentlessly and did everything possible to enhance her physical strength and endurance. If she didn't, the yahg Information Dealer would have surely destroyed her.

Now, she was pouring through all of the Broker's information. He was working on serums to augment a body's abilities. Illegal. But useful. Liara decided on taking some of the injections. He was working on upgraded FTLs in order to escape the Reapers, wait out in an uncharted system outside of the Galactic Rim. Come back afterwards, and help his species gain the strength to rule over the next cycle, and presumably stop the Reapers then.

For the next two years, Liara had every Broker initiative get every possible ounce of resources they could. She convinced them into believing she was an agent, and she acted accordingly. Going on some ship runs, overseeing exchanges, taking out targets.

But privately, she was pulling the strings.

Finally, Liara was able to locate her father. Even though she had been gone for all of Liara's life, she felt it necessary to save her dad. Maybe she'd be able to get to know her. She sent for Matriarch Aethyta as soon as possible. With her father on the ship, and unhappily so, all available hands went to upgrading the ship, their armors, their weaponry, and the serum. She even had it geared towards asari in as discreet of a way as she could manage.

Today, Liara awoke from the couch she slept on in the Broker room. She made some last minute checks, ensuring all her VIs had shut down, and that their shared library had stored all necessary information. She did not know what had become of Commander Shepard after his assault on Earth. She had since recalled all her operatives, and had only received sparse pieces of information from entrepreneurs. And in the last year, that information had trickled down to smaller and smaller amounts. Most of her agents were dead, at that point in time.

She knew that somewhere down the line, he had made his choice. And Liara was making hers. The galaxy didn't need people like her, she reasoned. Shepard didn't need her. Hell, her fellow asari weren't fond of her, either. She steeled herself, and reached over to the intercom. Her distorted voice ran through the ship's length as she spoke, "All hands, this is the Shadow Broker. Prepare for FTL jump. We are leaving before anyone makes their way here."

Over a private transmission to the injection prep room, the Broker commanded, "Have Doctor Adams and Engineers Menee, and R'shi go to the medbay, with the specially prepared injections. Bring a small cot and two nurses. Our new Operative, T'Soni is to be given the serums. She is our testing subject."

Liara walked back to her couch and sat. She was scared. She knew the injections would be painful. Some would pierce bone, others would go to muscle. One would inject fluids into her spinal chord. And another would spread through her nervous system. She shook her head, steadied her breathing. Let out a shaky sigh. Now wasn't the time to snivel or cower. Now was the time to act.

She left her room and slowly walked down to the medbay, before flopping listlessly onto a waiting chair.

The human doctor, salarian and asari engineers, and two nurses, one human and one salarian entered. They wheeled in the cot as well as the machinery carrying the serums.

"Are you ready, Operative T'Soni?" The Salarian nurse asked gently, waiting for a response.

Liara checked over all the serums with her Omni-Tool to ensure nothing was modified or poisoned. She nodded.

"Good. We'll need you to strip so the syringes have skin access. Additionally, we have sanitation wipes to give you. You'll need to swab down your entire body." The doctor spoke, offering Liara a canister filled with disinfectant wipes. Liara accepted them, and stripped, swabbing herself down as she went.

"Let's just get this over with," Liara sighed, lying down on the cot as the doctor and nurses strapped her into it, before straightening it up. Liara looked down at her nude form, and flexed her fingers. She wiggled her toes and moved her neck, allowing the doctors to strap it down, too.

The serum hadn't been tested yet, and Liara wasn't sure if it would make her stronger, or if it would kill her.

_But was death really such a bad thing?_

Liara wasn't afraid of dying. She was afraid of what might happen if this didn't kill her, _or _work, however.

At this point in time, it was moot to think of, anyways. At least, that was what Liara told herself.

She looked to the side, as the engineers powered up the equipment. She watched them put one of the large, motorized injectors at the rear of the cot, where it could enter her spine. She watched as they moved other syringes up to her head. Watched as they prepared an anesthetic.

"No." She bit out, "I want to deal with this myself." Her heart raced as the nurse tossed the vial of painkillers aside, and helped the engineers set another pair of automated syringes near her head, sitting perfectly next to her temples. She observed as they positioned syringes next to her legs, arms, and sides.

It was kind of poetic, really. These serums. They would hurt. But they would turn her into something greater than what she was. Much as her childhood, as painful as it was, had forced her to evolve into a stronger person than anyone could dream of her, the shy and stuttering fool, ever being. Liara had blossomed into something new. Something vibrant and beautiful. Her painful childhood was merely forerunner to the suffering that she experienced under the Normandy. But her life was also the harbinger of change. The galaxy always regarded Shepard as a hero. But without Liara, Shepard would have gotten nowhere. That was what her childhood readied her for. That's what the Goddess' plan for her was. To be a manager behind the scenes. To be the galaxy's hidden savior. And that was good enough for her. She smiled slightly, still thinking as the final strap was placed on top of her head. Of course, that smile was soon replaced by a grimace and a scream as the injections began.

The pain was unbearable. It was like her blood had been replaced with fire, and electrically charged daggers had buried themselves in each fiber of her organs. The agony was so unbearably powerful that it shattered her very center. The pain was so alive it choked her very thoughts and screamed and clawed it's way to the very forefront of her mind. It was torturous. For those moments, there was no Liara. There was only suffering.

After several minutes, the pain subsided enough for her to think with some semblance of intelligence.

"It's a good thing those walls are soundproofed," she joked dryly.

* * *

><p>All right. I know, it's kinda iffy. But, uh, you know. If I can get some feedback and constructive criticism, I'll make it better. And, I know I'm taking some liberties in terms of Liara's character, and possibly the time frames, too. But it'll all be fleshed out as the story continues. So, thank you for reading, and stick around for the story! Thanks, again.<br>Also, there are existing solar systems that exist outside of galaxies, but they are a rarity.


	2. In Dreams

**Chapter One: In Dreams**

Liara grimaced as her sore body twitched and spasmed. She closed her eyes and didn't open them, shaking her head as best she could with the restraints on. Soon enough, the doctor's voice cut through Liara's hazy void.

"I'm going to need you to stay bedridden for as long as possible. Get some rest. If possible, avoid solid foods, and try to keep away from stressful situations. I'll leave some medicines behind on the table by your couch. Farewell, Operative T'Soni. You can stay on the cot, if you'd like."

"Of course, I'll just... Stay here for a while."

The doctor nodded, before fetching a clean robe and helping Liara into it after the nurses finished removing her from the cot. They walked Liara to her couch and laid her down.

"We'll be back with food as needed. If you need something later on, just call," one of the engineers smiled, handing her a small communications chip.

Liara nodded, unable to do much else at the moment. The engineers, nurses, and doctors finally left. And Liara was left with just her thoughts. And by the Goddess, it seemed as though being all alone was more company than she had moments ago. But the thoughts weren't friendly. They never were.

_Weirdo. Bitch. Asshole. Piece of shit. _

Words from bullies, old and new, trickled in.

_You think Shepard would be interested in you? You might look like a woman, but God knows you aren't, _alien_._

Liara sighed as she remembered Ashley's comment. How Shepard observed calmly before taking Williams' arm in his, and walking away.  
>She remembered how she cried herself to sleep in her small cot behind the med bay. Remembered how no one talked to her. How Garrus only shot her a sympathetic look. How Wrex snorted and mumbled about her needing to grow a quad and let them be.<p>

But she was the catalyst, the driving force. The one who propelled Shepard into greatness. How she was his right hand in combat. How after they got back onto the Normandy, there was no talking. No discussion. Just a calm nod and a departure. Unless he needed something from her.

She remembered how she used to worship Shepard. How she followed his steps with glee. How she tried to talk to him. How Ashley sneered at her, and how he looked away. How he started getting more short and impatient with her. And then...

_Look, I don't like you very much. Okay? You're good enough to have around in a combat situation, and you're a good resource for me to use, what with making sense of the beacon. But no matter how much you help me, it won't change anything. You're an alien, and I'm a human. This is _my _ship. And as far as I'm concerned, you don't even have a place among my crew. Make no mistakes, I'll be watching. If you drop the ball, and can't get out of any situation on your own, the consequences are your own. Stop talking to me._

She remembered how cold he looked when he said it. How he didn't even sound angry. He sounded as casual as if he was talking about the weather. And then he walked straight into Ashley's arms. That was when the blade really sank in.

Liara grimaced. She felt a familiar sting in her eyes.

_Not again._

She blinked away the tears, and just lay there, reviewing her time on the Normandy. Wondering if she should have helped Shepard.

No. She made the right choice. Just because he and Ashley bullied her didn't mean that she had to condemn the galaxy.

She turned her head to the side, and curled up on the cot, clenching her jaw at the pain that danced throughout her body as she moved her aching muscles. She stayed curled up, even though it hurt. It was okay. She wanted to deal with the pain. She wanted something to anchor her down.

"All hands, stand by for FTL jump," the intercom crackled, before the ship lurched. Liara smiled, knowing she'd be moving on soon. Finding a nice, peaceful world. Maybe she'd just have them drop her off. Pass on the Shadow Broker title. Or maybe she'd just take an escape pod and have it crash on the planet instead of actually landing it.

No. She'd settle it with those who were on the ship. Establish a new colony. Maybe even have it grow. And maybe, one day, she'd introduce it to the galaxy. Or she could live out the rest of her days at the camp. One day, the Broker soldiers would inevitably grow restless. Maybe they would revolt and kill her. Or maybe they'd up and leave.

Either way, the plan was perfect.

Liara yawned. The effects of the serums and injections began to take their toll on her body. She looked at the clock. 1500 hours.

_As good a time as any._

Soon enough, she fell into a troubled sleep.

**_Elementary School. Year five._**

_An Asari from another continent had just moved here. Liara befriended her. She introduced her to her friends, to others at the school, helped her with learning the layout of the school. Over a period of weeks, she had stopped talking with her. Liara had always been nice. Said good morning whenever she saw her. Said hi in the hallways. Offered to include her in any game she played. But Eleysia had stopped being friendly. She avoided her. Always kept their conversations short. Got angry at her, yelled at her. When she had Eleysia come over when her parents were out, she bossed her around. Made fun of her behind her mother's back. Snickered quietly when Liara made a mistake. _

_"Why don't you like me any more, Eyesia?" Liara asked, looking up at the taller Asari with baby eyes._

_"Becuase. You're too nice. It's sooo annoying!" She answered, rolling her eyes and stepping back._

_"What do you mean?" Liara sniffed slightly, still looking up._

_"You always say 'hi' and 'good morning' and it's annoying. It makes me dislike you." Eleysia mumbled._

_"I.. I understand... I could try and not do that... O-or would you rather we... Didn't talk?" Liara stammered, feeling a sudden weight press down on her._

_"I think we should be buddies. But you know, just casually. No coming over, lunches, or anything. Just... You know.. Nice to each other. Okay?" She smiled slightly, before halfheartedly muttering a goodbye._

_A goodbye Liara didn't bother returning. She moped around for the rest of recess. Didn't talk to anyone._

**_Elementary School, Kindergarden._**

_Liara never liked Marquesse. She always came into school looking disheveled. She always had crumbs and dried out food around her lips. Whenever she saw Marquesse in the halls, she never hesitated to level a glare at her. She didn't just dislike Marquesse. She almost outright hated her._

_But one day, the illusions about the young girl were shattered._

_Liara was playing tag. She tripped and fell. She felt the hardened, uneven rocks on the school's field dig into her knee. She grimaced and tried to stand up. It was hard, but she did it. _

_'Don't look at your knee,' Liara told herself mentally._

_Marquesse had seen the the fall. She helped Liara, walked with her. Supported her, so that way it didn't hurt too much when she had to walk up the stairs to get to the nurse's office._

_"Liara bleeding?" Marqueese asked innocently._

_"No, I'm not bleeding," Liara spoke softly, looking down at her knee. She saw the blood running all down it, even soaking into her socks. "Oh," she said, voice thickening with emotion as pain began to flood her._

_After getting back from the office and into class, she glanced over at Marqueese. "I'm really sorry about being so mean to you. I always thought that you were a bad person. I don't know why. Can you please, please, please forgive me?"  
><em>

_Marqueese looked back at Liara and grinned, "Yeah. I forgive you."_

_Liara beamed as she whispered, "So, are we friends?"_

_Marqueese nodded, and turned back around and listened to the teacher. _

_Liara smiled and followed suit._

**_Elementary School. Year two._**

_"I'm... I'm sorry Marquesse, I'm moving... I won't be coming to this school any more."_

_"Oh... We'll still be friends, though. Right?"_

_Liara sniffled, and spoke thickly. "The best. Just like always."_

_Marqueese nodded and smiled, sniffling faintly before continuing. "Our parents can get in touch with each other. We can visit each other throughout the years. We'll stay best friends. We don't have to stay in the same school."_

_Liara nodded, and allowed the ghost of a smile to grace her face as she spoke softly, enveloping Marqueese in a hug. "Yeah, of course. I'll tell my mom your parents' extranet address. You can tell them mine."_

_They smiled and nodded. Exchanged addresses._

_Liara never saw Marqueese again._

**_Elementary School. Year one._**

_Liara was always a sickly child. She had had problems few other Asari had. She was sick for three weeks of four. Ten months of the standard year, without fail, she was ill. _

_In fact, she was so sickly that when she was five, she only weighed eight and a half kilograms._

_She had fallen ill the day before school. This illness gave her terrible __diarrhea, vomiting, and cramps. Her mother gave her a pill for it. She said it would help. She never really said how, though._

_It didn't matter. Liara trusted her. And she took the pill._

_Three days later, she was using the restroom. She had just taken her pants off. She was about to sit down, and then all the repressed waste from the pill suddenly erupted from her. It squirted everywhere. It coated the walls, her pants, her shoes, and her hands. The entire stall was covered in diarrhea. And so was she._

_Liara did the same thing any reasonable child would in that situation. _

_She cried._

_She cried and cried and cried for fifteen minutes. Finally, another student from her class came in. She heard Liara crying. _

_Finally, Liara moaned, "P-p-pl-lease, get the teacher... I... need her really, really, really bad."_

_"Why?" The other student asked._

_"I made a mess!" Liara exploded, bawling her eyes out._

**Present Day, Shadow Broker Ship**

Liara burst awake, near sobbing again. She shook and quivered, eyes darting about her room before she realized where she was.

She breathed unevenly and raggedly for several minutes, and steadied herself.

She looked around, beginning to notice the effects of the serums. Everything seemed sharper. Clearer. Larger. Her vision must have changed.

She glanced to a clock. 1800 hours. She had slept well over twenty-four hours. Even though she didn't feel like it. She still felt tired and sore.

Liara stood up, noticing that the room she was in seemed to have gotten smaller. She'd probably grown. Which meant she'd probably need new armor.

That also meant she needed to take new measurements. Liara rolled her eyes in minor annoyance. She silently left the medbay, making sure to leave while no one saw her. She tiptoed through the halls and filed into the elevator to the Shadow Broker's room. She gingerly continued her walk before stepping into her bathroom on unsteady legs, and activating the weight plate. It seemed to be moving slower than usual. Liara shrugged it off and waited until her weight was displayed. She was astonished to know she blasted up from 61.6 kilograms to a full on 114. She had gained more than twice her weight in muscle and bone practically overnight!

The serum worked! That meant that her bone density had skyrocketed to level on par with, or above those of Krogan! Liara grinned, realizing her modified serums worked. She stepped out of the lavatory and booted up the Broker VI.

"How tall am I?" She asked the glowing orb expectantly.

"You are currently 2.05 meters tall, Shadow Broker," the VI spoke after scanning her.

Two point five meters! Liara was floored. That was unbelievable! That sort of height would dwarf anyone that wasn't krogan.

Satisfied with her results, Liara requisitioned a new set of her armor be designed, fitting "Operative T'Soni's" new specifications, as well as commissioning some new shielding and padding upgrades, as well as additional hardened plates, since she now had the ability to support so much extra weight. Upon seeing a confirmation response, she sat down on the couch again and thought.

_Where could she get something to eat?_

Without a dollop of hesitation, she rose again, walking on still sore legs before placing in a meal order. And a large one, at that.

After finishing it, she retired for the night. Yet again sleeping, as her tired body so righteously deserved. This time, perhaps mercifully, or even luckily, Liara collapsed into a deep, dreamless sleep.

* * *

><p>I know, I know... Still kinda short. I'll work on making these a little longer, but it just kinda felt like a good stopping point right here. So, you know. Here we are. Feedback? Anything would be greatly appreciated. Until next time, thanks for reading!<p>

Also, sorry about some of it being too factual. This was supposed to show off some of Liara's backstory, as well as establish how the new injections interacted with her body. Also, I revised a little of Chapter One.


	3. Wrapping Paper

**Chapter Two: Wrapping Paper(s)**

At 0600 hours, the alarm promptly went off, blaring Liara into the land of the awake and alert. She deactivated the holographic clock and hurriedly showered and dressed in her too-small clothes.

She commissioned for another meal to come in, and sat, waiting for her breakfast to arrive.

She was antsy and more than a little bored, but she didn't know why. She shook her legs back and forth, got up, paced, and set herself back down. She walked in circles, lay on the ground and spun in circles, and even tried to biotically lie down on the ceiling. And she had done it, too.

"Shadow Brok-"

_FWOOMP._

"Your meal is here." The mech finished, leaving the food on the small table in front of Liara's couch.  
>Dazedly, Liara shook her head, groaned softly, and began to stand. She looked over her meal in delight, before digging into it like a hungry varren tore into a fresh kill.<p>

During her time aboard the Normandy, Liara had not hesitated to search about human culture. During which time, she had grown very fond of Indian and Middle Eastern cuisine. Well, she enjoyed most cuisines. Except for krogan. Liara wasn't particularly fond of meat. In fact, she was a vegetarian, which made a good number of human diets much more preferable to her. She often supplemented her old world asari vegetarian style with human meals.

People made fun of her for that, too. It seemed no matter where she went, or what she did, someone had a problem with her. An asari maiden modelling her meals after a nutrient deficit human's?

Ridiculous!

She shook off the thought and ate her meal quickly and silently. She had ordered several dishes popular in various human culture. She had dosas, rotis, dahl, french fries, fruit salad, pizza, ice cream, and one thing she saved for last.

Chocolate.

The magical bar always seemed to cheer her up a little. Even when everything seemed a sure loss, chocolate was there. It got her through the Normandy when she discovered it. She still remembered the day.

_**Citadel, Zakera Ward. Normandy Shore Leave**_

_"W-what is this?" Liara stuttered, eyeing the strange bar shaped thing._

_"It's chocolate, sweetie," the cashier at the small diner chuckled, before continuing, "you've never had a bar?"_

_Liara shook her head._

_"Girl, trust me. You're really missing out. Here, take it. First one's on the house. Okay?"_

_She nodded and stammered a thank you before walking to a small table in the far corner of the small cafe. She carefully bit the bar, and frowned._

_It tasted like plastic. _

_"You're supposed to peel the wrapper, honey!" The lady from the register yelled over the din of the customers._

_"O-oh... Thank you!" Liara's face flushed a deep indigo as she shouted over the cacophony of people. The woman smiled and nodded graciously._

_Liara carefully peeled back the wrapper and looked at the chocolate underneath. And frowned._

_'It looks like solidified excrement,' she mused inwardly._

_Nonetheless, she braced herself for something less than savory, and took a bite. Her eyes widened and she almost gasped aloud at the explosion of flavor. Asari had candies, sure, but they were a pastry and wine culture! When it came to sweets, Humanity took the cake! _

_'Quite literally in this case,' she deadpanned inwardly, smirking to herself._

_She spent another twenty credits on chocolate then. And ate it all._

**_Normandy Docking Bay_**

_Liara lumbered out of the elevator, carrying four large, unmarked bags. And a considerably overstuffed, new backpack. Plenty of people were staring at her. She felt a familiar heat behind her face as she hastened her walk. Almost blessedly, she was within the Normandy soon._

_"What are all of those bags you've got there?" _

_Liara froze in her footsteps as she heard Wrex's voice._

_"Uhh... N-nothing! Absolutely nothing at all! Ha-ha-ha. Nothing! What bags are you talking about? I don't have any bags!" Liara grinned nervously as she hid the entirety of her bags behind her back._

_Rather badly, too. Wrex could still see all of them._

_"Uhh... Right. I'll just let you take your 'nothing' and be on your way, then." Wrex spoke slowly, giving her an odd look.  
><em>

_Liara giggled nervously and said, "See you, I'll later! D'oh... I mean... See you later... I mean, sorry... I have to go.. Aaanddd, yeah.. Goodbye, W-wrex!"_

_Wrex observed as the young asari turned and ran. He turned away as well, but not before noticing a small wrapper that Liara left behind. He eyed it curiously, and then walked away slowly. Whatever had Liara into more of a stuttering mess than usual wasn't something he wanted much of a part in. _

_Was she high?_

_And why did the room smell sugary?_

_As soon as she said goodbye and she had left, Liara ran straight to the med bay. She sprinted in, ignoring Doctor Chakwas's confused stare as she sealed the door behind her and slowly, tenderly lay down the bags upon bags of chocolate underneath her cot. She shivered in glee when she was done._

_'I suppose I deserve a reward for coming along this far.' Liara thought to herself, reaching into one of the bags and pulling out another bar of __ecstasy. She peeled back the wrapper and sunk her teeth into the deliciously browned bar. _

_She allowed it to sit there, allowed the flavor to melt in her mouth, to coat it in it's rapidly melting thickness. She moaned in pleasure as she ran it over her teeth and all along her mouth before finally swallowing the mouthful. _

_Liara delicately had another bite, almost whimpering from the exquisite rapture and utter pleasure of the situation. She let the piece sit in her mouth yet again, before tilting her head back and swallowing._

_She grinned a grin full of browned, chocolaty teeth and very gracefully crammed the rest of the bar into her mouth. Getting a small amount on her face in the process. It didn't matter, though. Something this silkily sweet and enrapturing deserved to have a little of a mess involved. _

_Liara halfheartedly wiped her face with a disinfectant sheet before flopping on her small cot and curling up, thinking about her amazing new discovery._

_Hardly a moment was spared before a good six hundred kilos of curious krogan stormed into her small room._

_"So... What was in those bags? Drugs? You seem a little off. Look, what you do to get your kicks is all well and good, but you're no use to anyone if you're dead." Wrex rumbled, giving Liara a lopsided stare._

_"Oh, Goddess, no! No drugs, Wrex... Please don't tell anyone else about my stash! I mean... If you don't I'll... Give you some of it..." Liara sighed, resigned._

_"Well, maybe if I knew what 'it' is I'd be willing to make a deal." Wrex spoke slowly, as if talking to a child._

_"It's chocolate." Liara mumbled, looking down._

_"What's chocolate?"  
><em>

_Liara wasted no time in showing him what it was. Needless to say, they finished her stash within the day. A hard lesson had been learned that day._

_Never trust a sugar high krogan with a secret._

**Present Day, Shadow Broker Ship**

Liara shuddered in anticipation as she looked over her chocolate bar. She allowed herself only to look, and not to touch it. No matter how badly she wanted it. No, needed it.

_Burned for it._

She remained perfectly still, eyeballing the bar of beautiful, sweet, _perfect _chocolate. Such a nice bar of milk chocolate begged for some friends. Liara smiled slightly as she walked to her terminal, ordering another giant bar. This time with 90% cacao and espresso beans. It was surprising. As an asari, she wasn't geared towards bitter flavors. And yet, she still loved dark chocolate. She ordered one final bar. Cookies and creme. She felt goosebumps tingle across her body as she walked back to the couch and sat, eagerly awaiting the mech that would bring her one of the greatest things in her life.

She slowly unwrapped the corner of the bar, and bit in, gently breaking off the smallest portion of the corner, and rolled her tongue over it slowly, working the tenderizing, sweet chocolate in her mouth. Letting it melt and congeal into thick, syrupy goodness before she tilted her head back and swallowed. Then she took another small nibble, and gently chewed this one. She swallowed it quickly, and slowly enjoyed another.

She ate like this until the bar was one third of the way done before she heard a small beep on her terminal. One telling her Operative T'soni's armor was ready.

She smiled at the news, heading on down to the armory to receive her new armor and weaponry.

She had a brand new Vindicator Battle Rifle, a Graal Spike Thrower, a Geth Plasma SMG, a Scorpion Heavy Pistol, and a Kickshock Harpoon Gun.

"Goddess. You're sure I'll be able to carry all this and not be slowed down?" Liara asked breathily, observing all the different guns.

"Positive, ma'am. But you have yet to see the mainstay. Your new armor," a salarian engineer waved behind him, where the armor emerged from a wall port. It was like...

_Shepard's_

The armor possessed a gray color with a blue stripe instead of a red one. And no N7 insignia, but the armor looked very much like her old Commander's did.

"The armor has an experimental type of shielding based on electric currents deflecting blows. The new engine schematics, as well as existing technologies made the upgrade possible. The armor will also enhance your strength on a much greater scale, since you don't have to worry about breaking your bones from excessively quick, powerful movements. In technicalities, the armor is resistant to DEWs, even though the effectiveness of that remains to be seen. The armor also weighs around 250 to 300 kilos, depending on how much equipment is being carried. Without equipment, it sits at 224 kilograms. It comes with a helmet that folds and stores in a thigh pouch. The helmet and suit are radiation resistant, to a large degree. The armor also possesses automated medi-gel dispensers if the need arises. As of yet, with the schematics we've received from the engines and other upgrades the ship has seen, this is the most cutting edge suit to date. I wish you luck, Operative T'Soni. Any questions?"The salarian engineer spat out the words quickly, excitement absolutely oozing from them.

"Yes. How was all this accomplished so quickly?" Liara prodded, shifting her weight from foot to foot. It all seemed to be too good to be true.

_Maybe it was._

Well, the schematics came from the Shadow Broker himself, so they were of a high priority. And, we have a lot of engineers on site. Only a few needed to correct the FTL problems, so the rest of us came here. And sleep wasn't very important to us, anyway," the Engineer finished, yawning slightly at his own mention of sleep.

"Very well. I shall take the armor and weapons right now. May I have a cart?"

The engineer nodded and fetched an extra large antigravity cart. The large bin was capable of supporting vast amounts of weight, and so, was able to carry Liara's new equipment with relative ease.

Liara nodded and quietly thanked the engineer before filing out of the room and jogging to her cabin, antigravity cart in tow.

"All hands, the problems with the FTL switches have been turned off. We will be emerging in real space within the next 20 minutes." The intercom crackled and popped as the announcement was made.

Liara increased her pace. It'd be important to get back to her cabin.

After all, she did have some chocolates to finish.

* * *

><p>Yeah, yeah. Not much happened here. But I'll be starting up the action-ey stuff up next chapter. Okay? Reviews please? Anything works great. Again, the length of this will increase next chapter, when I actually have some more stuff to work with, rather than just one character and her preparations. So, you know. Here's hoping for a good 3K plus chapter. Thanks for reading my first fanfiction effort. By the way, I revised some minor things in chapter two. Nailed out a few plot bunnies. Thanks again to all my followers and favoriters (that's not a word XD) and here's hoping for a long, fun journey in the daysweeks/months/maybe years ahead!

Also, sorry if you don't like the slightly suggestive chocolate stuff XD  
>But I do, so I might use it later on.<p> 


	4. Halo

**Chapter Three: Halo**

Liara had just finished her chocolate bars, and was still riding off the high when her ship emerged in real space. She had a display of what the space around her looked like brought up in her cabin. After the exit from FTL, it was relatively crowded, with a giant gas planet, several purple, bulbous ships, one blocky, green-gray one, and... A ring of some sort.

It seemed like the ships were about to fight. She could tell from the sinister, hellish red glowing from the purple ships on her display hologram. The greenish ship was surely going to be destroyed.

Then something quite disconcerting happened. Some of the purple ships broke apart from the main fleet, and began to glide towards her ship.

Surprisingly, the ship only hailed her.

She forwarded the command to the bridge to answer the hail. Perhaps she could figure out where she was, and what was happening. The signals took a while to synchronize, and even longer to establish a good quality, noise producing chat.

When the other alien finally showed on the screen with relative clarity, she was shocked. These things... Were completely different looking. And almost repulsive initially. They had humps somewhat similar to krogan, mandibles like a turian... Except, they had four of them, and no jaw. The teeth were terrifying. They were shaped like small daggers, and looked as sharp and serrated as a wild beast's fangs.

A thin coating of drool escaped from the teeth of the alien as he barked his native tongue. The translators aboard the ship weren't working. Obviously because this was a new race that they had come into contact with.

Maybe if they spoke more the translations would kick in? Liara frowned and before introducing herself.

"Greetings. I am the Shadow Broker, and this is my ship. To who am I speaking?"

The alien seemed to stop, puzzled, before the connection shut off.

Suddenly, another hail was coming in. She answered it.

"-his *kssh* is Capta- *kssh*-eyes of the UNSC Pillar *kssh* -utumn! Come in! Can you hear me?"

Liara gaped.

This creature... Was human... And, according to the translator, he spoke English. Just like the humans from the galaxy she just left.

"I hear you, Captain. This is the Shadow Broker. Do you understand me? Are your translators working?"

"What the hell is a Shadow Broker, and why isn't the comm link open? I don't care. We read you! Our AI has already managed to establish a connection between the two of us. We don't need a translator, do we? We're human and I'm certain you are, too. That's neither here nor there. We need your help. The goddamn Covenant are about to wipe us out. If you will not help us, the UNS-" The link cut out. Liara wondered why the man had said 'UNSC' before the transmission cut, and not anything about The Alliance.

_Didn't he know they need translators? She was asari. But... They were communicating fine..._

"Alien vessel, this is Commander Nivash Ratamee. Either you help us destroy the heretics, or you side with them and die."

"Goddamn it! Get the channels back up for good! I don't want the Covenant messing around any more! Help us, please!"

The Shadow Broker considered for a moment before issuing her order.

"All hands, prepare for battle. We are saving the human ship. Fly us near the human ship, boost power to kinetic barriers, and fire all weapons at the nearest non-human ship."

She felt the Cruiser lurch underneath her as the ship began its course to the Pillar of Autumn. She felt a _thud _lurch through the ship as the first cannon fired.

"Shadow Brok- *ksshshss* -ave our deepest thanks for aiding us at this time. We have several Covenant boarding squads within the ship. We advise you prepare for the same. Shit! Someone get that *kkssshshhss* -ut!"

The transmission cut out as the Human ship fired.

A three brilliant lances of orange struck the shields of a nearby ship. Shockingly, the the other ship didn't blow up. It's shields didn't even break yet! It was absurd! The human ship was practically built _around _the Goddess damned gun! And it didn't destroy other ships. The rounds were huge, but they hadn't even left a scrape. Those ships must be nigh impenetrable!

"Goddess." Liara whispered, voice trembling

"Captain Kasam, you have control of the ship. There is something I must do. Prepare the shuttle bay for launch. Operative T'soni is going to aid the humans in their excursion. And I am going to see her off. Additionally, equip Matriarch Aethyta with armor and weaponry and have her meet us there."

"Yes, Shadow Broker," the Captain rattled off, before harshly barking a series of orders to her underlings.

Liara put on her armor as quickly as possible and ran as fast and as hard as she could. It was only a matter of time till the ships blew, and she knew it. She regretted the loss of life, but in this context, it was inevitable. The Humans were allies of the asari. As compromising as a secret war with an unknown species must have been, who was she to put their relationship at stake?

_'I know the FTL switch malfunctioned. Did the engines send us into another, lesser well explored portion of the galaxy?' _Liara began uneasily questioning herself as she ran down to her shuttle and jumped in, closely followed by her father, who she ignored for the time being. She tapped into the Ship's battle network as the shuttle whizzed into space, aiming for the green brick that was a human ship.

_'What if they're pirates? Slavers? Terminus System? What have we gotten into?' _Liara panicked as she realized how poorly thought out some of the most "logical" course of action was.

"They have Plasma Weapons! Our shields are ineffective! Fire warp torpedoes A-1 through B-9! Aim for those two ships on the side! Spin us around and take us between the ships! Try to flank and gun for their engines! Hit the underbellies while we're at it!"

"Here she is, the Shadow Broker," the Matriarch spoke, voice raspy and tinged with sarcasm.

Liara's eyes widened as she stuttered, "Y-you knew?!"

"Honey, I had your office on Illium bugged. I've been keeping tabs on you for a long time. Mostly so someone else who wasn't as sympathetic as I wouldn't wind up following you around."

Liara nodded, still staring at her father suspiciously. She was nervous. Nervous about her new armor, it's effectivity, the inevitable destruction of her ship. The inevitable confrontation with the humans. If they were Terminus, they wouldn't take too kindly at a mention of the Citadel, or the other governments. Hell, they might not even like them still being around after the battle.

_And if they were Cerberus. _

She shuddered at the thought.

"Look, kid. You worry too much. I was afraid of this happening. You were always Benezia's kid. She was a worrier. A real big one, at it. Sometimes you just need to calm down and accept that fate is fate. Things might suck for a while, but in the end, it's only temporary. Enjoy the good stuff while you can, and remember that nothing's forever. As cliche as that piece of shit is, it's true."

Liara nodded, and tilted her head, veering the shuttle into a stomach flipping corkscrew and nosedive to evade a squadron of Phantoms. She squealed quietly in nervous delight as she saw them leave without paying much thought to her.

She took a breath, steeled herself, and asked a question she'd always had.

"Then why didn't you at least stay close to prevent it?"

Aethyta scowled and growled, "Look, the way things ended... With Benezia and me... It was a better for me to have left."

Liara nodded, a frown on her face.

"Looks like this conversation will have to wait. We're here."

The Matriarch nodded, unfurling her Carnifex Heavy Pistol and making some last minute checks on the gun's systems.

Liara did the same, added a warp ammo mod, and slipped a pain relief pellet into her mouth to help mask the headache she felt coming on.

They exited the shuttle without another word, entering the Human ship clad in armor, leaving their heads and faces exposed.

Big mistake.

Human weapons whizzed into their general direction, as well as various screams about something called "Covies".

Aethyta swore before biotically incapacitating two of the Humans. Liara knocked out the other three, smashing them into a wall.

"Why would humans attack us? Aren't we their allies?" Liara shouted as she ran down the halls, her father in tow.

"Beats me. Maybe you should ask the Captain."

"Right. On it." Liara keyed the communications function on her omni-tool.

"Captain Keyes, why is your crew firing at us?"

"What?" Keyes' voice was deadly calm, despite the violent shuddering of the ship around them. In the ways that great wild beasts spasmed in death and great cities quivered in earthquakes, the ship so shook and remained shaking as Keyes continued. "Why would they be?"

"I am uncertain. Weren't we allies?"

Keyes paused for a second, and continued slowly. Cautiously. "Of course we are allies. You _are _human, are you not?"

Liara paused. Dumbfounded. Didn't humans know what asari were? There must have been some sort of mistake. But...

Since when were those ring structures in her galaxy? And where were those two ship designs ever seen back home?

_And where are the Mass Relays?_

"No. We are asari. I apologize for the deception, Captain. The terminal I was speaking on the ship off of did not allow a two way visual interface."

"Dammit, Cortana! Why didn't you tell me they were aliens?" Keyes was bellowing. A guttural, glottal sound that seemed to make everything around it shy away like a bristling, enraged serpent. Just like any deadly snake, Keyes coiled up, and spoke calmly again. No doubt the calm before the fangs sunk in.  
>"We need to wake him up. We need to take control of this ship."<p>

Suddenly, an irate, female voice cut through the comm link. She spoke quickly, almost snarlingly. And with no shortage of attitude.  
>"Captain, these ones are different. They don't... They aren't affiliated with The Covenant. They can help us!"<p>

"Are you certain?" Keyes sounded hollow. Defeated, almost.

"I'm absolutely certain."

"Asari, you may come to the bridge. I'll have Cortana send you the relevant data."

Liara listened for a moment, then waited. For what, she was uncertain.

But it definitely came as a shock when her omni-tool began to pulse and glow a soft blue hue.

_"These things really aren't that secure, you know."_

The Matriarch scowled and soon thereafter, joined back in the conversation. She growled softly as she rasped, "Get on with it. We're on a little bit of a time leash."

_"Right." _Liara's omni-tool pulsed shortly before a map showed on her's and the Matriarch's holographic interfaces. They marked a good path to head through by, and set on their way to the bridge.

They ran through the hallways, stopping only to dispose of some strange gnome like and bird looking creatures with wrist mounted shields, and continued on to the bridge. Liara stopped, hunched over, and hissed in pain, grabbing her gut as she stopped.

"Liara, you got hit back there?" Her father sounded worried. If only mildly so for the time being.

She ground her teeth and stood back up slowly. "No. My armor is holding... I just... Don't feel well. I am... Certain we can examine this later." She grunted, her voice harsh and grating with her answer.

Aethyta nodded, let Liara go ahead of her, and followed closely from behind.

The route to the bridge was relatively clear, interrupted sporadically by the strange aliens from earlier, as well as the same kind that Liara saw during her video conference with one of the ships. She would have idly wondered what sparked this obvious war, were it not for the fact that she was in a life or death situation, and filled to the brim with a debilitating pain.

She had just shot one of the gnome creatures and thrown one of the bird ones into a wall when a door to her side opened up, revealing a man dressed in a pristine, white uniform. His hair was crisply cut, and shone as a metallic gray. His eyes seemed extremely cold, yet intelligent and inquisitive. The man was decidedly fierce in battle and fiercer in leadership.

"Welcome, aliens. Cortana seems to trust you... I suppose that's enough for now. This ship is going to be destroyed. In any best case scenario, we've got about fifteen minutes before any evacuation or emergency landings need to occur."

Aethyta nodded and barked, "What are the others doing here? What's the point of this fight?"

Keyes looked at her coldly and squared his jaw. "I thought you would know," He narrowed his eyes slightly as he continued. "You aren't exactly Human, you know."

"Why would we know anything? And just because we aren't Human doesn't mean we are not to be trusted!" Liara was getting somewhat annoyed. Her headache from earlier had returned with a vengeance. Her stomach ache was also there. She felt like she was being stabbed before she continued, wincing and nearly snarling. "I don't know what's going on here. I am trying to help, so stop with this."

"I suppose you don't look like Covenant, anyways... Not any I've seen, anyhow." Keyes mumbled, folding his arms over his chest before looking back.  
>"Cortana, we need to take back control of our ship. Wake him up."<p>

"Who?" Liara looked back and forth between Keyes and... Nothingness. She surmised that he was talking to be the AI Keyes mentioned.

"Very well. I'm bringing him out of cryo now." A feminine voice echoed hauntingly over the bridge. The words that escaped the modulated voice... Were significant. They spelled matters of trans-galactic importance as blatantly as the sun painted piles of soldiers long dead.

* * *

><p><em>A whine.<em>

_From hushed casket shall the leader of times long forgotten shall awake. _

_With silenced memories shall the being, both flesh and metal, renew his war._

_Once more, shall he attempt to finish the fight._

_Once more shall he fail._

_It was foretold in times long since passed._

_By beings of a lost era._

_Those who now listen through shackles._

_Those that were gods, once._

_A hiss._

"... Chief? Can you hear me?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **I'm sorry about the wait. Lot's of advanced classes. I'll try and do daily or near daily updates, but sometimes (more likely than not) it will be spread out over the course of a week. Anyhow, this is still somewhat of a building chapter. Next chapter, we're gonna jump over to Chief meeting Liara, but we need not talk much of it. Additionally, if you have any questions/comments/concerns, PM me if you want. I know a lot of people are worried about me making Liara into a Spartan, or making her OP. Neither of the two are the case. I will elaborate later. Additionally, I can't thank everyone enough for all the positive reception! Near 30 followers already! Thanks so much, guys. I'll do my best with this. Thank you for reading.


	5. Defeat

**Chapter Four: Defeat**

"... Chief? Can you hear me?"

Tired eyes opened, and peered listlessly upon a world that pressed down on an already beaten and battered soldier.  
>He nodded, and sat up as the cryo tube opened. He clambered brusquely out of the tube and listened as the technician ran him through all the standard wake-up tests and procedures.<p>

Within moments, explosions were shaking the sealed metallic doors that confined him.

Soon, the doors gave way, and the guards on the upper levels died. It wasn't instantaneous. It looked slow.

He idly speculated as to whether or not the techs and guards were still alive when the jackals got to them. They looked quite hungry, as they always did.

He shrugged it off, turned, and left the room. Leaving little behind him. His boots thudded as he ran through the bloodied, battered, and burnt halls.

He stepped on and over blackened and perforated corpses as he raced through the halls. Master Chief knew what he had to do.  
>He knew that he needed to find a weapon. But going to the armory was surely a trap, given that so many soldiers littered the hallways tracing across to the weapons room.<p>

It was likely that there were several Covenant guards, as well as heavy weaponry. The ship was not the ideal place to fight against something like that.

So, the next best thing was to look for a Marine that dropped their gun... For the time being.

"Master Chief, report to the bridge." He heard a voice. More than likely it was the Captain's, echo through the now desolate, decrepit halls.

He looked to the walls, examined the different signs, and headed off for the bridge.

**Bridge, Pillar Of Autumn**

"So.. Who is this 'Master Chief'?" Liara glanced between the pedestal the VI presented itself on and Keyes, searching for some sort of give or clue on the identity of the soldier she was likely about to meet.

"One of Humanity's finest soldiers. Both our front line, and our last. A Spartan. You haven't heard of them?" Keyes seemed genuinely surprised.

"I've never heard of those. What the hell are they?" The Matriarch spoke up, propping her weight on her left hip.

"Everything that I've told you was what I was allowed to do. The rest is classified." Keyes grunted as another explosion rocked the ship.

"Cortana, how is his progress going?"

"He's made it through the mess hall, and he should be here in roughly thirty seconds," She spoke quickly, and the ship vibrated as another round was fired off.

"I suggest you prepare yourselves. I doubt that he will be as... Forgiving as I was when he first meets you," Keyes spoke. Choosing his words carefully as the door opened.

Liara dove behind her father, crouched awkwardly, and peered over her shoulder. The Matriarch chuckled quietly.

The chuckle crawled into a hole died the very moment the Spartan came in and grabbed hold of the two of them by the throat.

He lifted them into the air and shook, nearly crushing the Matriarch's throat, and severly constricting Liara's.

The Captain barked roughly, "That is enough, Master Chief! These... Aliens... Are here to help us." He seemed to choke on his words towards the end of the statement.

_Why are they so uniformly xenophobic?_

The massive, green soldier dropped them and looked at the Captain, tilting his head as he spoke. He had a low voice. It was soft, too. But gruff and harsh. Grating like an unlubricated machine's gears screeching and grinding together. He sounded angry. Like a swarm of ravenous locusts waiting to devour their next meal. "Why are these things here?"

"Cortana said they're to be trusted. So, I'm going with it for now. Master Chief, this ship's going down, and we need you to get out. Take Cortana. Keep her safe. Don't lose her." Keyes almost pleaded as he gestured to the terminal she was manifested on.

The Master Chief tensed up, before the ship was rocked by another explosion. He quickly righted himself and voiced his agreement to the Captain's task.

He removed a chip from the terminal, and... Slid it into his helmet.

Liara's forehead wrinkled, and her eyebrow-markings quirked as she observed the exchange.

The Master Chief spoke softly again, perhaps to the VI? He still spoke distrustfully, but not with as much raw hatred as when he addressed Aethyta and her.

_Why was everyone so serious? And... Alone? Had they not had alien allies before? Why wasn't the Council helping them?_

Liara frowned introspectively as the Chief took a pistol the Captain offered.

She followed behind him as they left the bridge.

He picked up weapons and magazines when he could, leaving the dead where they lay, and on occasions where their eyes were open, gently closed them. It was... unexpected, given how adamant he was about moving quickly.

The ship rocked and bucked like an enraged bull in its death throes.

Liara grimaced as her stomach flared up in pain again. It was much more dull this time. Almost similar to a cramp. Except in a different spot, and with no recession or growth of the pain. It was like a steady migraine within her organs.

She hissed softly as she continued on.

The Master Chief heard her hiss of pain. And paid no mind to it.

The Matriarch looked over her daughter, concern shimmering in her darkened eyes as she silently offered help to her young.

Liara shook her head slightly, and continued onwards, running in time with her father to catch up to the Spartan that had offered no quarter for an ill asari maiden.

They ran through the ship, looking for an escape pod, Liara surmised.

Also, the big lettering on the side of the wall that said "LIFE POD" with a large arrow under it helped.

Unfortunately, there were quite a few jettisoned pods, and aliens in the way of the small group. Aethyta snarled and biotically threw two of the gnome creatures.

Liara focused, and slammed two of the birdish creatures into the ground with her own biotics. They bounced, and blood exploded out of their beaks. Likely from ruptured organs.

The Master Chief, though... He moved.

_He moved quickly._

He dove under the immense split-jawed creature, slid under its legs, and pivoted to face the monster. He ran towards it and delivered all of his momentum in an astounding kick. He flew through the air and buried himself in the alien with a horrific _squish_. The behemoth snarled and wriggled and wailed on the floor it had just made its way to as the Master Chief sjumped upward. He nimbly flipped in the air, and landed on the head of the unfortunate creature.

A head which deftly exploded with the force of a five hundred kilo angry Spartan smashing down on it.

"Come on, more will be here, soon." Cortana's voice cut through the deafening silence as they began to move again.

Chief squelched onward, blazing, or more accurately, painting a trail for the two asari to follow.

They exchanged a surprised look and continued onward.

They encountered more of the strange aliens along the way. And dealt with them easily.

Between Liara and Aethyta's biotic attacks, and Master Chief's brute strength and skill, they were soon at the Life Pod.

"The Covenant's here!" A voice tore through the focus of the group. They looked to their right and saw a lone Marine sprinting for the safety of the Life Pod.

He dove for the Pod, hit the ground, and slid for about a half of a meter, before stopping just ahead of the door.

He quivered and whimpered as if the empty hall threatened his life.

Master Chief stared at the man. After a moment of shaking his head, he picked him up, and threw him into the Pod with one arm.

He entered, and the two asari followed suit. Aethyta snickered quietly as she and her daughter filed in. There were two seats left.

The Spartan remained standing, and grabbed an overhead handlebar. The Marines glared at Liara and Aethyta as they awkwardly filed over and between everyone to get to their seats. They strapped in no sooner than the Pod ejected from the ship.

Liara observed theopen space as their escape vehicle veered towards the ring below. She watched as her ship fired disruptor torpedoes. Volley after volley of them hit the alien ships.

Some were destroyed, and others critically hit.

Then she saw a lurking behemoth of a ship hurtle towards hers.

_And ram it._

Her ship snapped into an incalculable series of fragments. The thirty kilometer long beast of a ship continued on, shields not even flickering. Satisfied, like an enormous predator licking its chops after a fresh kill, the monolithic ship began to fire at the fleeing _Pillar of Autumn_.

"By the Goddess." Liara breathed in shocked awe.

"First time's always a little rough. You'll get used to it." A small, but masculine voice cut through the astounded silence that Liara had begun to ooze out.

"I... I... I can't understand how." Liara stammered and sighed, floundering hopelessly in her attempts to express the complete and utter confusion that suffocated her.

The Matriarch leaned over, reassuringly wrapped an arm around Liara. "Come now, kid, surely you'll get through this. You've done it before, and you'll do it again."

Liara felt her back straighten ever so slightly. Here she was, battered, achy, beaten, and on the way to an unknown place...

And her father _still _believed in her. It was profoundly reassuring.

But even so, this was one of the worst experiences of her life, Liara had soon decided.

She had no clue of the horrors to come. She gagged and coughed, covering her mouth with a gauntlet. She looked down at her armored wrist and forearm and grimaced.

A fine purple mist adorned her armored arm.

The ship rattled as an alien fighter fired on it, scoring two or three solid hits.

"Shit! Get ready, everyone! This is gonna be a tight landing!" A voice cut through Liara's dazed haze as the Life Pod hit the ring world's atmosphere.

Liara shook and quaked in her seat, as did the human soldiers. The... Spartan was it? The Spartan stood stock still, unmoved by the quaking ship.

A minute passed, then another half of one. Liara looked about, checking over the soldiers. She looked at the Spartan. Time stood still for one small moment.

It was the moment she saw the Master Chief diving out of the pod. She gawked as she saw him catch a marine whose seat had broken off the pod in reentry. He threw the seat into the center of the Pod just in time to smash into the ground so hard he created a gaping roughly Spartan-shaped hole.

Then, finally, the Pod smashed to the ground.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Yeah, yeah. I've been out for a while. I'm sorry. My laptop broke down, so I typed most of this out on my phone. I love you guys. Sorry. My AP classes really took off, and I had a bunch of tests and projects. I'm really super sorry. But here, I know this isn't much, but I'll try and get another chapter up soon. And maybe get a short story out a little later. Happy (9 minute late) N7 Day from Texas!**

**Update: I love the criticism in the review. I'll use it to make sure the sequels are better. Anyhow, the whole Liara as a Spartan thing has really thrown everyone for a loop. I can't wait till I see the reaction when this gets fleshed out. If anyone has a burning NEED to know, they can PM me, but I'm definitely hinting at the implications of Liara's augmentation.**


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